The wintery mix did not stop your McLendon-Chisholm neighbors Jackie Pullen, Gary Lovell, Steve Hatfield, Warren Hodges to conduct their RCH Water Supply Corporation monthly meeting on Wednesday, February 1, 2023 at 2pm. I presume they thought it was perfect timing to be able to not be disrupted by questions, to not be held accountable for what they said and of course to not be recorded by yours truly. Most of Rockwall County residents were warned to stay off the icy roads. Schools were closed, trash services were suspended and even the postman wasn’t delivering mail.
Called Twice
At 10am, I called RCH WSC and left a voicemail. “I asked are they still having the meeting at 2pm and if not to post on the website it is cancelled.” Did I get a call back? Nope! Photos were messaged to my phone after 1pm that vehicles were pulling into the parking lot. By 1:44pm I called RCH WSC again and this time another gal answered the phone who said the meeting is still on if they have a quorum.
Despite Shoveling Ice and the Driving Conditions We Safely Arrived Late
Mayor Pro Tem Trudy Woessner helped me with a ride to the meeting. As we entered the office to the conference room, I noticed on the left there was another tall gentleman who I am presuming is another maintenance worker who sat at his desk facing the conference table. I said to him, “Good afternoon.” and he nodded.
There was definitely a quorum present in the conference room. Steve Hatfield was next to Robin Baley on the right. Gary Lovell sat in his usual chair. At the lower end head of the conference table sat Jackie Pullen. Dwight Lindop (operator) sat in his normal spot. I was focused on noticing there was quite a number of files on the conference table. It is NOT the norm for their board meetings to have that many documents at the table. Unfortunately, I do not have a photo of the interior of the conference room area. I’m sorry for that…I will testify under oath if necessary and I did capture video of the parking lot and took several photos of the cars too.
Usually after previous executive sessions I always recorded whatever actions were taken. Please note that the “published” minutes do NOT match the videos. WHY? I guess Robin Baley should answer that and of course why does the board approve them? My guess would be they don’t want to be held accountable for not following through with their “decisions”.
The RCH WSC Board Directors were staring at us like we were rudely interrupting their serious discussion so I politely asked, “Are you in Executive Session?” Robin Baley responded yes they were.
No biggie, it’s not their fault that we were late to hear what they had to say about the latest maintenance updates, or their “discussion” about the Annual Meeting. I said, “Okay then, we will wait on the other side of the room.” I started leading the way towards the normal area that we await for them to finish the “executive session”, but Ms. Robin Baley turned around and said that there are not going to be any actions taken.
Ms. Robin Baley turned around, “There are not going to be any actions taken after executive session.”
What?
Now we asked follow-up questions, but at the end of the day I suggested to Mayor Pro Tem Woessner that we just report it. Yes, I know what the statutes say that I can record public meetings and not executive sessions. I have a history of respecting these statutes for years, as well as in all of the videos that I have recorded of the RCH WSC Board Meetings. Yes, I could have raised a scene to have the Rockwall County Sheriff called, but that is one first responder that could be out helping those who are truly physically in need during this weather.
So we walked immediately outside and we produced a FB Live to mark the time and ALL of the vehicles in the parking lot present at this meeting. Here is the recording:
There was definitely a quorum present and they have once again violated the Texas Open Meetings Act. After they return from executive session they are supposed to reconvene into public session. The board just sat there instead of correcting the contracted administrator. Keep in mind this is in the middle of an “executive session” that we “ALLEGEDLY” interrupted.
Each of these men probably feel they have done nothing wrong. Of course, Robin Baley surely thinks she doesn’t have to be held accountable and if you question her about H20 Services she will refer you to email the RCH WSC Board to explain it.
What are some questions that I would like answered?
1. When is the last time that the RCH WSC water tower or storage tank has had a dive team inspect, take photos, report findings and cleaned the sediment?
2. Who is facilitating the election, will the election be conducted with paper ballots/electronic and will there be instructions on the website of all procedures as well as results?
3. Which RCH WSC board members are up for election in 2023?
4. When will we see the annual financial audit or the financial reports be presented to the members? Will it be at the Annual Meeting or will it be posted on the website?
5. Will there be a resolution worded on the ballot for members to vote in favor or against for RCH WSC to transfer all of its assets and customers to the City of McLendon-Chisholm?
6. Does RCH WSC have a map of the CCN from your engineer (Eddy Daniel) printed and/or digital file presently at this address (5763 SH 205 South, Ste 101, Rockwall, TX 75032)?
As a customer, I would like to know if this type of maintenance is happening? Financial related information is important to know as well. I’m aware it is happening in other water service operations. Why is it SO HARD TO BE TRANSPARENT??? I want to see photos, documents, reports from a third party! AND WHERE IS THEIR ATTORNEY ART RODRIGUEZ???
2 Candidates Submitted BOD Applications
David Naylor dropped off his application on January 26, 2023 which was placed in an inbox with a bunch of other paperwork. On January 31, 2023, Laurie Lehmburg emailed her candidate application and spoke to Dwight Lindop to ask if dropping the physical copies when the roads are clear would be okay? Lindop said that would be okay to do that. Guess we shall see if the customers will see those two names on the ballot or will Robin Baley somehow derail the candidates.
Just in case anyone ever wondered about their tech capability;
• These agendas are never posted on the website so I have to physically take a picture of it in the window.
• There is no alternative board meeting conference method as a dial-in option.
This water service corporation has a number of issues such as being behind on infrastructure improvements, failing to host elections and annual meetings, failing to present certified audit reports and failing to facilitate compliant meetings to the customers/members.
No matter what this cesspool of violators is doing, they are WASTING everybody’s time with these shenanigans. Regardless, of my energy invested in this…in the end this ALL affects the end user, which is anyone that is a RCH WSC customer. Not to mention the TxDOT S HWY 205 ROAD EXPANSION. All the utilities have done their planning, submitted their financials, attended the meetings for TWO years, but no not RCH WSC.
The RCH WSC Board can claim all day that they are having “executive sessions”, however, I believe they are having “BRAIN STORMING SESSIONS”. They do not treat this entity appropriately and they are managing this poorly. This is unacceptable and anyone who believes that this is due diligence of quality work is blind. If anything, all I see is deception and irresponsibility. What do you think? Tell me in the comments below or reach out to me. I would love to hear from you.
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5 comments
Thank you Adrienne for this summary of the latest RCH meeting. Your hard work and “we just want the answers” mentality is a blessing to RCH customers.
Thank you for being our voice.
Thank you Adrienne! I so appreciate your do-diligence & your understanding of the political side of all this. I know in my gut from the first time our dealing with RCH/Robin , something wrong was going on. But I do not know the procedures of researching. Thank You for all you are doing.
Thank you for keeping us informed. I know it must be frustrating dealing with irresponsible individuals. Is RCH a coop owned by the customers? If not, do you know who actually owns the corporation?
Thank you for reading. RCH WSC is a Water Supply Corporations (WSCs). It is a non-profit, member-owned and member-controlled corporations organized under Chapter 67, Texas Water Code. WSCs are subject to the laws and regulations governing the operations of non-profit corporations. The operation of a WSC is the responsibility of its “elected board of directors”. Directors are elected by the corporation’s members who are the customers who pay a water bill. HOWEVER, this particular WSC has not been keeping up with basic administration including elections and annual meetings.
Thank you so much for keeping us informed. I do not understand people who want to hide the truth. Isn’t transparency a right for us all?